SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA. 219 



canoes. I endeavoured in vain, amidst the 

 clamour and bustle of trade, to obtain some 

 information respecting the coast, but finding 

 the natives becoming more and more im- 

 portunate and troublesome, I determined 

 to leave them, and, therefore, directed the 

 boats' heads to be put to seaward. Not- 

 withstanding the forwardness of the Esqui- 

 maux, which we attributed solely to the 

 desire of a rude people to obtain the novel 

 articles they saw in our possession, they 

 had hitherto shown no unfriendly disposi- 

 tion ; and when we told them of our inten- 

 tion of going to sea, they expressed no 

 desire to detain us, but, on the contrary, 

 when the Lion grounded in the act of turn- 

 ing, they assisted us in the kindest manner 

 by dragging her round. This manoeuvre 

 was not of much advantage to us, for, from 

 the rapid ebbing of the tide, both boats 

 lay aground ; and the Esquimaux told us, 

 through the medium of Augustus, that the 

 whole bay was alike flat, which we after- 

 wards found to be correct. 

 , An accident happened at this time which 



